Boost your photography skills with Nikon's free iPhone app.
I've owned a dSLR camera for years, but it spends most of its time on Auto mode. That's because I can't wrap my brain around things like aperture priority, ISO, and f-stops.
Unsurprisingly, most of my shots bite. I've tried reading enlightening books like How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera (nepotism alert: I know the author), but that doesn't help me when, say, I'm standing on the soccer-field sidelines trying to capture my daughter as she scores a goal.
What I need is a simple, informative how-to guide that fits in my pocket. Enter Nikon Learn & Explore, a new iPhone app that teaches photography fundamentals and offers shooting techniques for common situations.
Actually, that's just part of what you get from L&E. The app also offers a library of professional images you can browse, each with an accompanying Nikon World article that details shot composition, equipment, lighting, and all that.
The Learn section offers articles on image editing, shooting techniques, and fundamentals--many of which include both sample photos and how-to videos.
The Nikon World section provides features from the eponymous magazine, while the Glossary explains photography terms from A to Z. You can even mark individual articles and photos as Favorites for quick future access.
In short, this is a must-have app for novice shutterbugs and pro photographers alike (but more for the former). Best news of all: it's free.
The Olympus E-P1 with its small 17mm lens attached.
(Credit: Olympus)The Olympus E-P1 camera, a hybrid designed to combine advantages of both compact cameras and SLRs, is a welcome arrival in a digital camera market struggling to find new directions.
The small and light camera that debuted Tuesday features interchangeable lenses and relatively large sensor that endow SLRs with flexibility and higher image quality, but it's also got a small body of a compact camera. It has the potential to appeal to SLR owners who want something smaller and to compact camera owners who want something better, if Olympus can convince people to surmount a significant obstacle, price.
Like most hybrids--gaming laptops, for example, or bicycles with aspects of both road bikes and mountain bikes--the E-P1 sacrifices specialization for versatility. But the digital camera market is saturated, and the E-P1 is a promising member of a newer camera breed.
There are a handful of competitors with similar aspirations. Canon's G10, the newest in its G series of high-end compact cameras, is one example. Nikon's GPS-enabled P6000 is another, though, like the G10, it doesn't have an interchangeable lens. And Panasonic's G1 and GH1, which employ the same Micro Four Thirds lens and sensor standard as the E-P1, are probably closest.
The biggest knock against these cameras is price. Their relatively large sensors--especially those in the Micro Four Thirds cameras--cost a lot to manufacture, and fast electronics and high complexity just make things worse. Few people are willing to spend more than $300 on a camera, much less the hybrid cameras.
Brace yourself for some sticker shock. ... Read more
The camera in Apple's upcoming iPhone 3G S sports not just video, but also some new features besides the usual not-so-useful bump in megapixels.
The phone, available next week in the United States and some other countries, comes with a 3-megapixel camera compared to the current iPhone 3G's 2 megapixels. It can shoot video at 30 frames per second at VGA (640x480) resolution, matching competing phones and addressing a shortcoming of the current phones.
Videos can be edited on the iPhone 3G S by trimming the sequence of still images taken from the video.
(Credit: Apple)But the iPhone 3G S can do more than just shoot video, said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, at the company's Apple Worldwide Developer Conference here. People can share videos through e-mail, MMS, Apple's MobileMe service, and YouTube.
And taking advantage of the iPhone's relatively powerful hardware, people can "scrub" through a video--that is, click and drag to fast-forward and rewind--as they watch to jump to the spot they want. Likewise, they can trim videos to pare back to the desired portion. The scrubbing and trimming uses an interface that displays the video as a filmstrip sequence of still frames.
The iPhone 3G S also includes still camera upgrades for the photography crowd--and it should be noted that the iPhone rivals SLRs for activity on Yahoo's Flickr photo-sharing site, outpacing all mobile phones and all but one actual camera.
First is autofocus. Mobile phones' tiny image sensors often mean everything is in focus whether you want it to be or not, but the iPhone 3G S will let come with autofocus to try to ensure that the right part of the image is sharp. A feature called "tap to focus" lets people tap on the screen image to focus the camera on a particular part of the image--foreground or background, for example.
Yahoo's Flickr site puts the iPhone head and shoulders above other mobile phones for popularity on the photo-sharing site.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)Coming along with autofocus is an automacro mode, too, for close-up shots, Schiller said.
Apple also said the new phone has better low-light performance--a common bugaboo not merely for mobile phone cameras but for regular point-and-shoot models as well.
The iPhone 3G S will cost $199 for a 16GB model and $299 for a 32GB model, Apple said. Other features include better battery life and faster performance.
Tamrac's new Aero Speed 85 has an improved camera compartment and zippers.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)LAS VEGAS--Sure, they don't have 11-point autofocus systems or image stabilization, but a lot of money is spent on camera packs as well as cameras, and Tamrac, M-Rock, and Think Tank Photo introduced some new ones here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show.
Tamrac
First up are Tamrac's Aero Speed 75 and 85 backpacks. These feature a lower compartment with a side-access zipper so cameras can be removed without taking the pack off.
Unlike related predecessors, the new models come with waterproof zippers for that compartment, and the lower section also has been reworked to permit larger 70-200mm telephoto lenses to fit, said product specialist Derek Gross.
The Aero Speed 75 costs $109.95, and the 85, which adds a compartment that can accommodate a laptop with a 17-inch screen, costs $149.95.
... Read more
Olympus' concept model of a svelte compact camera using the Micro Four Thirds standard.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)LAS VEGAS--Olympus has set a ship date, albeit one with a lot of wiggle room, for its first high-end compact camera using the Micro Four Thirds technology.
The camera maker first showed a nonworking "concept model" of the camera at the Photokina show last September, and the same model is on display here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show. Now, though it sports a label, "launching this summer."
... Read moreCompact-camera manufacturers have begun testing the waters with a wealth of high-end features as they search for new ways to gain revenue, market share, and recognition.
In earlier digital photography days, a camera with an extra megapixel of resolution, face recognition, or image stabilization could stand apart from the herd. But now that herd has grown larger, most folks who'll buy a digital camera already have done so, the economy has put consumer spending on ice--and camera makers are making some bolder bets with high-end features.
Among them: Nikon's built-in GPS support to record where a photo was taken, Casio's high-speed video, and the Micro Four Thirds camera system from Panasonic and Olympus.
Premium features aren't an easy sell. They tend to appeal to market niches rather than the mainstream. Early implementations are often rough around the edges. And it's hard enough to convince people to buy a new camera, much less one with the higher price of premium features.
But winning those customers can have a good payoff with better profit margins. And that's critical in this day and age. Market research firm IDC expects that after years of growth, the shipments of digital cameras will decline in 2009.
"It's crowded, and it's getting crowdeder," IDC analyst Ron Glaz said of the digital camera market. "We're anticipating that with the slowdown in economy and disposable income, we'll start seeing consolidation of the vendors." In other words, even though something in the neighborhood of 38 million digital cameras are sold annually, some companies will throw in the towel.
... Read more
The Red cameras come with a lot of not-so-cheap accessories.
(Credit: Red Digital Cinema Camera)Red Digital Cinema Camera, a new maker of high-end digital movie cameras, is expanding its turf closer to traditional camera makers such as Canon and Hasselblad.
On Thursday, Red announced a new range of modular camera designs that it plans to deliver mostly over the coming year and a half that can take not just high-resolution video but also still images. The move comes just as Canon and Nikon have begun adding video support to their SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras.
Red hopes to ship a large-format camera sensor in 2010.
(Credit: Red Digital Cinema Camera)Various new models from Red will be able to accept lenses from Canon, Nikon, and Mamiya, a move that could make them a more serious possibility for professional photographers, but the prices--thousands of dollars to tens of thousands--restrict this equipment to a very small market.
Certainly Red's new cameras will never be as widely used as video-enabled SLRs costing less than $3,000. But Red, if it can deliver on its promised road map, holds the potential now of shaking up professional markets. Its original Red One video camera did, winning high-profile accolades from Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson among others for its ability to outdo film.
What's unclear is how well cinematographers used to video will take to still imagery and photographers will take to video, but the two realms are certainly growing ever closer in the consumer market.
High-end sensors
The models come with a variety of high-end sensors: a 24-megapixel chip the size of the 36x24mm full-frame sensors in the top-end cameras from Nikon and Canon; a 65-megapixel 56x42mm sensor competitive with those in medium-format digital cameras; and one large "617" format sensor that measures a whopping 186x56mm and whose 28,000x9,334 pixel resolution comes to 261 megapixels.
Red divides these new camera models into two lines, the more compact Scarlet models and the more powerful Epic models that can reach higher frame rates with high-resolution sensors. Also accompanying are a wide range of cinematography accessories such as a 1,080p LCD video monitor, an input-output module, lens mounts, battery packs, and wireless controllers. One fascinating combination: a harness that sports a pair of cameras for shooting 3D movies.
Red has a line of lenses for its cameras.
(Credit: Red Digital Cinema Camera)With the models, Red is trying to establish a new category called "digital still and motion cameras" (DSMC). Whether it will succeed with the jargon is anyone's guess, but the technology certainly is coming: Nikon's new midrange D90 became the first SLR camera that can shoot video, too, and Canon's higher-end full-frame EOS 5D Mark II is about to ship.
The 5D Mark II can shoot 1080p video, but Red's cameras record at higher resolutions geared for digital movie projection systems.
One area where digital photography has wrestled with film is in dynamic range--the difference between light and dark areas. With poor dynamic range, dark areas disappear into black murk and bright areas wash out. Red boasts of a wide range, though, with its full-frame, medium-format, and large-format Monstro-brand sensors all producing 16-bit data spanning more than 13 stops of dynamic range. The cameras shoot video or still images using a raw image format that accommodates the data.
... Read more
Canon is gradually revealing more of what's most likely the successor to the EOS 5D SLR.
(Credit: Canon)Canon has taken the art of the tease to a new level with its unveiling of what everyone expects to be a successor the full-frame EOS 5D SLR camera.
The faux moonlight in Canon's SLR a tease site is gradually illuminating more of the new model, an alert reader discovered, and he's right. Compare the screenshot above with the earlier version at the bottom of the post, which Canon ran when the SLR teaser campaign began earlier this month.
Of course, there's not much more to be discerned. (Surprise! It has an EOS logo!) But I think the new image shows more clearly that the camera, like the 5D, most likely lacks a pop-up flash. That's not a big surprise, given the expense, the likelihood that somebody buying a full-frame camera already have an external flash, and the space constraints imposed by a full-frame camera's larger pentaprism. Nevertheless, Nikon managed a pop-up flash for its lower-end full-frame SLR, the D700
Here's another tea-leaf reading from the ad about what many call the 5D Mark II. Presuming that Canon doesn't want to go too far by revealing the actual camera before the official announcement, they can't illuminate it much more without giving more serious information away, so I'm guessing the earlier rumor of a September 17 launch date looks reasonable. Of course, this is all timed for the Photokina show in Germany.
Canon's earlier SLR teaser.
(Credit: Canon)
Canon remained the top dog in the total camera market in 2007, according to IDC.
(Credit: CNET Networks, based on IDC data)When it comes to the strategically important and fast-growing market of SLR cameras, Canon remained No. 1 worldwide in 2007 but lost share to Nikon, new statistics show.
Canon sold 3.18 million single-lens reflex cameras in 2007 compared with Nikon's 2.98 million, according to a study released Tuesday by market researcher IDC. That represents a 42.7 percent and 40 percent share, respectively, of the 2007 SLR market. It's a much narrower margin for Canon than in 2006, when it had 46.7 percent of the market, compared with Nikon's 33 percent.
Nikon SLR shipments grew at a 71.1 percent rate, much faster than Canon's 29.3 percent rate, IDC said. To be sure, unit shipments don't reflect another important aspect of market share--revenue, which IDC didn't detail. But Nikon released competitive higher-end models, the D3 and D300, in the second half of 2007, so there's plenty of pressure on Canon there, too.
The SLR market is of major importance to camera makers: it's competitive, and the SLR market is far less saturated than the compact camera market, where camera makers are focusing on getting people to buy replacements or multiple models. SLRs offer much faster performance and higher image-quality than compact models, and lenses can be changed for different shooting styles. Thus, photographers have been flocking to SLRs as prices drop.
The overall SLR market surged 41 percent to 7.45 million units, much faster than the 22.7 percent growth to 123.3 million units for compacts, according to the IDC stats.
There, too, Canon faced pressure.
"The larger issue rests on repeat buyers looking for more camera at less of a price in years past," IDC analyst Christopher Chute said, and Canon has been trying to maintain higher average selling prices even as others cut prices.
In the total camera market, Canon's 18.8 percent share of units shipped gave it the top rank. Next in line are Sony with 16 percent, Kodak with 9.6 percent, Samsung with 9 percent, Nikon with 8.4 percent, and Olympus with 8.3 percent.
Aptina Imaging now can assemble image sensors, lenses, and other components into a camera phone package. The integration happens earlier in the manufacturing process, when the sensors are still part of their silicon wafer, than is typical today.
(Credit: Micron)
Memory chipmaker Micron Technology has launched its image-sensor business as a more independent division called Aptina Imaging, a move the company believes will improve its flexibility and business potential.
The new subsidiary is based in San Jose, Calif., a Silicon Valley location that's a long way from Micron's Boise, Idaho, headquarters. It will employ several hundred of Micron's 19,000 employees, Micron said.
"We need the additional flexibility and identity to be able to grow the way the markets we see are growing," said Shane Thomas, director of product marketing for the imaging business.
For example, Aptina will have a dedicated sales force and get new options for finding manufacturing capacity to build its products, Thomas said. "We're able to respond more quickly to our customers' needs."
Thomas wouldn't comment on two interesting business possibilities, however: whether Micron might be packaging Aptina for sale or spin-off and whether Aptina might use other fabrication facilities besides Micron's.
"We're always open to exploring other options for our business, but we're not commenting beyond that," spokeswoman Kirstin Bordner said about the possibility of a spin-off.
Using other fabrication facilities could mean Aptina wouldn't have to compete with other Micron manufacturing priorities, and other companies have expertise. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, for example, builds sensors for Kodak and made a cutting-edge sensor prototype developed by Stanford researcher Keith Fife.
New products, but are smaller pixels better?
Aptina also has several new product developments for its image sensors.
Most significant in the near term is a refinement of the company's existing process for sensors whose pixels measure 1.75 microns (millionths of a meter) across. The new version improves quantum efficiency (the ability to detect small amounts of light), fill factor (the amount of the pixel that's devoted to capturing light rather than electronics), and dark current (electronic noise that occurs even when there's no actual light to generate a signal in the sensor).
Aptina Imaging's new logo
(Credit: Micron)And Aptina has a new chip using the process, a 9-megapixel model of the "1/2.3" format that's very common in compact cameras.
The company also said its first chips using 1.4-micron pixels will be in production this summer. And it's begun making engineering samples of chips with 1.2-micron pixels that will be on sale in 2009.
Making pixels smaller means more can be put on a single chip of a fixed size, or more smaller, cheaper chips can be used to reach a certain megapixel count. But there's a possible penalty: smaller pixels can produce more image noise. Bucking the trend, Nikon's new D3 SLR has comparatively gargantuan 8.45-micron pixels and works well in low-light conditions even at a sensitivity setting of ISO 6,400.
Thomas said Micron is making sure image quality is level or better as it goes to smaller pixels, though.
"We're going to provide 1.4-micron pixels that are equal to if not greater (in quality) to 1.75 micron pixels. And 1.75 is better than 2.2," Thomas said. "Clearly, if you just shrink the pixel and you don't make enhancements to the other stuff around it, you're not going to get what you want. We're absolutely focusing on more than just shrinking the pixel."
Aptina Imaging's camera module, shown in front, back, and side views to the upper left, measures 4x4x.2.5mm. A conventional phone camera module is at the lower right.
(Credit: Micron)
Teensy cell phone cameras--now prepackaged
On the mobile-phone side of the business, Aptina announced a significant development, a much greater degree of integration that means the manufacturing fab will produce not just image sensors but full-fledged camera modules. Lenses and other components are attached directly to the silicon wafer, and mobile-phone manufacturers can buy the whole module instead of just the sensor from one company and other components from another.
The approach is reminiscent of buying processed food rather than raw ingredients in grocery stories, a practice that can be convenient for buyers but that also boosts profit margins for suppliers. Thomas preferred to express the idea as "adding more value to the complete value chain."
The camera package measures just 4x4x2.5mm--a significant notch smaller than conventional phone packages. Aptina hopes this means it will be adopted in the hundreds of millions of low-end phones sold today that still don't have cameras.
The sensor itself has VGA resolution--640x480 pixels--and its dimensions are the teensy 1/11 format, Thomas said. The camera modules will be shipping in samples in the second quarter and will be in production "shortly thereafter," Thomas said.
